The Controlling Metaphor and Winsome

When we were in school studying poetry, most of us learned about similes and metaphors. Both figures of speech compare two things that are essentially unalike. The simile uses the word "like" or "as";the metaphor does not.

"O, my love is like a red, red rose" (Robert Burns) is, of course, a simile.

"The moon was a ghostly galleon" (Alfred Noyes) is a metaphor.

Each poet is seeing something in a new and different way, thus demonstrating creativity.

While we learned to spot similes and metaphors in poetry, very few of us were taught that the metaphor, especially the controlling metaphor, can be a valuable tool in writing essays.

One of the most creative writers I have met on HubPages is Winsome. His hubs are always well organized and full of vivid details. His name suits him:    "1 : generally pleasing and engaging often because of a childlike charm and innocence <a winsome smile>
2 : cheerful, lighthearted" (Merriam-Webster)

The reader can tell that Winsome cares about people and their relationships and that he has a delightful sense of humor. I love some of his whimsical titles:

"Jesus Would Look in Your Refrigerator," "The Frog as Prince," "A Giraffe Is a Horse That Ran Out of Gas," "I've Lost My Mind and I Don't Remember Where I Put It"

His creativity is evident even in his titles.

One of Winsome's best hubs is "Everyone is a Weed in Somebody's Garden." Anyone could have done research on weeds and written an informative essay, but it took the creative genius of Winsome to see a connection between weeds and people. And Winsome's use of the controlling metaphor gave his hub focus.

A controlling metaphor is an expanded metaphor that becomes the writer's thesis and thus continues throughout the entire essay. Winsome begins his hub with a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson: "What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered." He continues, setting up the controlling metaphor and the thesis of his essay

I have always been fascinated by the concept of weeds. Tenacious, frustrating, masters of survival. They have been referred to as "nature's graffiti." Some have been so successful they have earned their own place in horticulture as grass, ornamentals, medicine and sometimes flowers of choice rather than a scourge to be hunted down and eliminated.

I have known people like that. People who don't look like, who don't act like and who don't fit in with the crowd they are in. And yet, in their own right and amongst others who see their worth, they often are the trendsetters, the ones who are quoted and eventually emulated.

But what about the weeds that proliferate so that the plants who were there first can't compete? What about the weeds that are prickly and don't look as pretty as the other plants? If you are a human weed, the difference is you have a choice. As we look at nature's "weeds" we just might learn a thing or two that will make all the difference in how we are perceived and whether or not we will be included or excluded.

His hub then gives specific examples of weeds and human beings, showing how they are similar. The starflower teaches us that we will be noticed if we are "useful and colorful." The dandelion teaches us to "be sustenance for someone," to "make it fun for others to help." The corncockle, once considered a cure for many diseases, including cancer, but now considered to be toxic, tells us we should do what we excel in, even if that means simply being pretty. The King's Cure-All, or evening primrose, is Winsome's final example. It shows us that "if we are able to soothe hurts of others, we will be valued and protected." Winsome's essay ends with a poem titled "A Stranger is a Weed Until We Make Them a Friend."

The controlling metaphor added so much depth and color to Winsome's hub. Had he written just about people, he might have come across as too preachy. Had he written just about weeds, he would have been giving us some botanical information. But combining people and weeds in one expanded metaphor showed remarkable creativity.